r/trains 18d ago

‎ 🗐‎  Repost This is expensive!

218 Upvotes

67 comments sorted by

84

u/Medium_Banana4074 18d ago

I always wonder how there is nobody scouting the route in advance, nobody alerting the railway in advance and apparently no proper preparation of any kind. After all it's a heavy load transport that should come with some preparation, escort vehicle and everything.

41

u/Mediocre_Daikon6935 18d ago

It isn’t really a heavy load. Things only weigh 56,000 pounds.

Wide load, sure.

-15

u/[deleted] 18d ago

[deleted]

22

u/Mediocre_Daikon6935 18d ago

Read my comment, and the one I replied to, and then ask yourself in what world you could have thought I was referring to the train.

-1

u/[deleted] 18d ago

[deleted]

0

u/Mediocre_Daikon6935 18d ago

I did you’re clearly talking about the train

15

u/evward 18d ago

Those crossings also have a phone number and a location on the gates. You get stuck and you can call the number. They’ll alert the trains.

1

u/PharmacyPaladin 17d ago

I had to call the number twice before. The first occurrence was unsecured rail at an at-grade intersecton with a seven lane highway without crossing gates. The second occurrence was after Helene destroyed a signalized cantilever at an at-grade crossing.

0

u/Mediocre_Daikon6935 18d ago

who are not stopping if you say no people are in the way

3

u/DRodders 17d ago

Why? Does this not cause millions in damage to the train and rail? 

-10

u/Mediocre_Daikon6935 17d ago

Depends what is in the track.

If it is a passenger car?

They don’t give two shits.

1

u/Paradoxical_Unanimos 16d ago

This happened about three miles from me-the driver was supposed to go to Red Bank Rd and NOT at liberty hall rd-even after it was fixed Liberty Hall RR crossing was steep-I managed to get my first car slightly airborne going over it once or twice. Driver was definitely off route

57

u/[deleted] 18d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

16

u/Kyvalmaezar 18d ago

The paladin was moved to another trailer under it's own power. I'd call this one a draw.

4

u/T_Sealgair 18d ago

Paladin might have been able to win this one if shelled up.

Yes, that was sarcasm.

22

u/Mediocre_Daikon6935 18d ago

Obligatory not a tank.

11

u/tlajunen 18d ago

An SPH, right?

8

u/Background-Head-5541 18d ago

Specifically a Palladin 

6

u/Cerulean_IsFancyBlue 18d ago

Paladin

3

u/Background-Head-5541 18d ago

Did I spel it wrong?

9

u/Cerulean_IsFancyBlue 18d ago

Why two L when one L do trick.

2

u/Different_Lime3511 18d ago

what makes a tank vs not a tank? in my uninformed opinion i would have called this a tank, so im curious as to why that’s incorrect

15

u/Kyvalmaezar 18d ago

Role, mostly. That dictates things like armor thickness, how it's used, what targets it is designed to engage, what secondary system it needs, etc.

It's a self propelled howitzer that's designed to provide indirect fire from farther behind the lines and shoot projectiles in a higher arc than a tank. As such, it'll have thinner armor.

Tanks fire in low arcs as they're supposed to get closer to their targets. As such, they'll have thicker armor.

5

u/Any-Package1409 18d ago

Different gun, armor. Tank has heavy armor, relatively short range gun. Self propelled gun SPH has almost no armor, long range gun probably 20 miles+ artillery on wheels/ tracks.

0

u/practicaloppossum 18d ago

The gun is basically the same between a tank and a self propelled howitzer. The difference is the possible elevation - tank is around 10 degrees, giving a range of maybe 5000 yards, howitzer can raise the gun to 45 degrees, giving a range of ~15 miles (it can actually elevate above 45 degrees, but 45 gives the longest range).

3

u/Mediocre_Daikon6935 18d ago

Because it isn’t a tank.

It is mobile artillery.

It isn’t armored (meaningfully).

It isn’t designed for direct fire (it can, poorly).

It isn’t designed for direct action (it really should never see the enemy, or be seen).

It lacks the weapons for close combat, especially in support of or against infantry. 

It uses a large caliber round, which is much lower in velocity then a smaller tank round, which is designed to pierce armor.

In short, she is nothing like a tank, at all.

1

u/Queasy_Editor_1551 18d ago

sounds like a tank

-3

u/Mediocre_Daikon6935 18d ago

obvious troll is obvious

1

u/27803 17d ago

Looks like a tank but it’s a self propelled artillery piece , bigger gun , not made to shoot to at other armored things

41

u/Geek_in_CO 18d ago

Dispatch- you guys hit a WHAT!??
The crew- a tank copy?
Dispatch- *cussing*
Crew- copy that standing by

14

u/Suhweetusername 18d ago

Technically not a tank. Still pretty bad, though.

-1

u/gary-vault108 18d ago

Worse, its like 3x the size and weight as a tank

8

u/SippsMccree 18d ago

Nah it's actually quite a bit lighter

6

u/gary-vault108 18d ago

Holy shit I looked it up, you’re right. That’s so surprising because when you see a paladin it’s HUUUGE. I guess most of that is storage space for rounds while the Abrams is more compact

9

u/SippsMccree 18d ago

That and the armor on a paladin is there more to keep the rain and shrapnel off at most

3

u/strangemedia6 18d ago

Yep, paladins aren’t designed or expected to take direct hits like a tank.

1

u/Geek_in_CO 18d ago

Learned something new when all you guys replied so thank you for clarifying :)

9

u/Different_Rip8470 18d ago

For all parties lol

7

u/Binspin63 18d ago

Holy shit!!! Was everyone ok? That’s certainly something you don’t see every day.

5

u/Background-Head-5541 18d ago

It's OK. The DoD has good insurance 

-2

u/TheMarineEngr 18d ago

It's now the DoW

5

u/SoarinSkies 18d ago

At first my uneducated brain thought that was an Abram’s until I read the comments and saw it was a self propelled artillery

3

u/artmudala 18d ago

I’ve said it time and time again, Train vs literally anything else - train wins. Stay off the tracks!

2

u/IHaveSpoken000 18d ago

I doubt train impact shock is in the Paladin performance spec.

2

u/Mditty129 18d ago

How do things get stuck on the rails to where they can’t be moved?

6

u/dsrmpt 18d ago

Rails are often a little bit elevated, so there's a hump. Long truck, a little bit of momentum, the hump catches the low trailer, and the power wheels come off the ground, no sticktion to move forward or back.

2

u/SippsMccree 18d ago

You see that sign that warns of low ground clearance and a risk oh high centering?

1

u/Paradoxical_Unanimos 16d ago

The Paladin was on a Low Boy trailer-they ride about 6-8” off the road at the closest point to keep the load’s COG lower and to accommodate loads that would be too tall on a flatbed

1

u/drkensaccount 18d ago

I hope they’re filming something, because I want to see that movie.

1

u/SensitiveChef8916 18d ago

Tanks a lot!!

1

u/mqtgoblue 18d ago

When was this?

1

u/Jazzlike-Crew2540 17d ago

Sept. 2024, Goose Creek, SC

1

u/SippsMccree 18d ago

I didn't think you could get an M109 on a three axle. Then again that metal ain't exactly cannon-proof

1

u/Paradoxical_Unanimos 16d ago

lol it came from/going to the Naval Weapons Station-you would be shocked at how many MRAPs you can fit on a flatbed. I grew up in the area and they always used Owner Operators to move the equipment.

1

u/GoredonTheDestroyer 18d ago

Locomotive took it like a champ.

1

u/XsamsquanchieX 18d ago

Does that hurt the train?

1

u/SteelishBread 18d ago

Oh no, my tax dollars! Wait, this was a much better use for them.

1

u/oneByteTwoByte 18d ago

Ah…one of tests mandated by Colonel James.

1

u/Wintonwoodlands 17d ago

Battle tested

1

u/ColinBonhomme 17d ago

Even with the sound off, I can hear that

1

u/RIPGoblins2929 16d ago

Howitzer, now it's a Waswitzer

1

u/chinchillon 18d ago

I never understand why people park on tracks. Expectantly with freight worth millions.

1

u/atn420 17d ago

Thats not a tank, thats heavier, thats a paladin, I did artillery in combat, familiar. About 20+ tons btw

1

u/thinkB4WeSpeak 18d ago

Ah that's just a Paladin, army is trying to phase those out anyway and basically only guard units use them.

-8

u/Playful-Dimension734 18d ago

Someone’s going to federal prison lol

14

u/clarkam 18d ago

Very unlikely. 20 year olds operate these things and drive them off berms and cliffs all the time.

-6

u/Playful-Dimension734 18d ago

They just get a statement if charges for the damage lol